Features experts from Clarivate, Nurix, Triana, and Monte Rosa discussing how degrader modalities are transforming discovery pipelines.
Gwenn M. Hansen, Ph.D
Chief Scientific Officer, Nurix
Gwenn M. Hansen, Ph.D., has served as Chief Scientific Officer of Nurix since June 2020 and served as the company’s Senior Vice President, Research from July 2019 through May 2020. Since joining Nurix in 2015, Dr. Hansen has focused on establishing the company’s DNA encoded library technology platform for small molecule discovery and leading the company’s discovery organization. Prior to joining Nurix, Dr. Hansen was an Associate Professor in the Center for Drug Discovery at Baylor College of Medicine and served in a variety of discovery-focused roles at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Hansen holds a B.A. in Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Nicki Thomson
CEO, TRIMTECH Therapeutics
Nicki has over 25 years’ experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D in a variety of senior scientific and commercial leadership roles. She is CEO of Cambridge-based TRIMTECH Therapeutics (an MRC LMB/UK DRI spin-out), which focuses on a novel targeted protein degradation (TPD) approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases. Nicki recently led TRIMTECH through its recent $31M seed financing. She was also founding CEO of Amphista Therapeutics, steering Amphista through Series A and B funding rounds, raising ~$150 million in funding and closing two pharma collaborations (deal value $2.3Bn). Her previous roles include VP/Global Head of External Drug Discovery (Roche); Senior Director, Business Development (GSK). Nicki’s Biotech experience includes Chair of Nanna Therapeutic’s Board (acquired by Astellas Pharma Inc.), Chair of the Board of Camena Bioscience and Head of Drug Discovery at Syntaxin.
Vito Palombella, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer, TRIANA Biomedicines
Dr. Palombella has over 30 years of scientific leadership and experience advancing first-in-class therapeutic programs, as well as a successful track record of building drug discovery and development organizations. Prior to joining TRIANA Biomedicines, he was the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Surface Oncology, where he led the non-clinical research and development organization. Prior to that, Dr. Palombella was EVP and CSO at Infinity Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for drug discovery and preclinical development. He held roles of increasing scientific responsibility at Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, LeukoSite Inc, and ProScript. Dr. Palombella was involved in the discovery and development of bortezomib and duvelisib, both for cancer therapy. Dr. Palombella holds a PhD in Viral Oncology and Immunology from the New York University Medical Center and completed his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University.
Kinsi Oberoi
Lead Technical Solution Consultant, Clarivate
Kinsi Oberoi is a trained bioinformatician with a solid foundation in genomic research and a deep commitment to continuous learning in emerging scientific domains. Since joining Clarivate in 2018, she has advanced to the role of Lead Solution Consultant, leveraging over a decade of experience in the life sciences industry. In her pre-sale’s role, Kinsi specializes in translating complex scientific and technical requirements into tailored solutions, partnering with clients to demonstrate the strategic value of data-driven platforms and informatics tools that accelerate research and development.
Mike Ward
Global Head of Life Sciences & Thought Leadership, Clarivate
As both a journalist and analyst, Mike has been writing, analyzing and commenting on the life sciences industry for more than 35 years. His actionable insights and analysis support pharma, biotech, healthcare and medtech stakeholders gain a deeper understanding of market news and trends. Mike has held editorial and content leadership roles at various publications and organizations across the industry.
John Castle, Ph.D.
Chief Data & Information Officer, Monte Rosa Therapeutics
John brings deep experience building AI/ML-driven computational chemistry, computational biology, and ‘omics teams for drug discovery and biomarker development. John is currently the Chief Data Scientist and Information Officer at Monte Rosa Therapeutics. Previously, he served as Associate Vice President for Translational Sciences at Agenus, Associate Director at Rosetta Inpharmatics/Merck & Co., and Co-Director of the Biomarker Development Center of Translational Oncology at the University of Mainz, Germany. He also established the bioinformatics and genomics department at BioNTech AG, where he pioneered methods for tumor neoantigen identification, revolutionizing neoantigen vaccines. John studied physics at Rice University in Houston and at the University of Göttingen in Germany, was a Fulbright Scholar at the Australian National University in Canberra and received his Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Washington in Seattle.